Referring to FIG. 1, the standard hitching system 100 for attaching, for example, a trailer 110 to a motor vehicle 120 comprises a tongue 130 attached to the trailer, a tow bar 140 attached to the motor vehicle, a hitching pin 150, and a locking pin 160. The trailer tongue 130 includes a top portion 132a, a bottom portion 132b, and an opening 135 between the top portion 132a and the bottom portion 132b. The opening 135 typical has a height of 2 inches.
Hitching a trailer to a motor vehicle using the standard hitching system 110 can be difficult and time consuming. For example, to hitch the trailer 110 to the motor vehicle 120 using the standard hitching system 100 requires an operator to first align the trailer tongue 130 and the tow bar 140 by positioning the tow bar 140 between the top portion 132a and a bottom portion 132b of the trailer tongue 130 (i.e., by positioning the tow bar 140 in the opening 135 of the trailer tongue 130) and aligning the holes 137 of the trailer tongue 130 (the bottom hole is not shown) and hole 145 of the tow bar 140. Then, the operator must bend down to the trailer tongue 130, which is very close to the ground level, to insert the hitching pin 150 through the holes 137 and 145.
Once the hitching pin 150 is inserted, the operator must then bend down even further to insert the locking pin 160 into a small hole 155 of the hitching pin 150. Since the operator cannot see the hole 155, to insert the locking pin 160 into the small hole 155, the operator must feel for the hole and then turn the hitching pin 150 so that the hole is positioned to insert the locking pin 160 into the hole 140, again by feel.
Physically bending down to insert the hitching pin 150 and the locking pin 160 can be difficult and problematic for people with physical impairments (e.g., arthritis in the knees). The tasks involved in hitching a trailer to a motor vehicle using the standard hitching system require good coordination, flexibility, and eyesight.
However, one of the main design deficiencies of the standard hitching system can be the limited vertical motion that the standard hitching system provides for the front-end of a towed cart-like vehicle. For example, the vertical motion of the front-end of the trailer is limited to the vertical length of the opening 135. This limited vertical motion can be problematic when a towed cart-like vehicle with one or two front wheels encounters an elevation such as a low stump or curb. Typically, the front wheels will be either damaged or torn off the vehicle when the vehicle attempts to traverse the elevation.